It took more than three years for another company to bring out a camera that went toe-to-toe with Sony's excellent RX100 series of compacts in terms of specifications and features. The Canon PowerShot G7 X ($699.99) is the first pocketable compact with a 1-inch sensor not to bear the Sony brand name. Like our current Editors' Choice Cyber-shot RX100 III ($748.00 at Amazon) , the G7 X uses a 1-inch 20-megapixel image sensor with a BSI CMOS design. The G7 X is $100 less expensive than the RX100 III, and its 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 zoom range is just a bit longer, but it omits the integrated EVF Sony puts in its camera. The G7 X isn't quite good enough to oust the RX100 III from its perch as our favorite premium compact, but it's an attractive alternative for shooters who prefer a longer zoom range over an integrated EVF.
Design and Features
The pocket-friendly G7 X measures just 2.4 by 4.1 by 1.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 10.7 ounces. It's about the same size as the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II ($598.00 at Amazon) (2.3 by 4 by 1.5 inches, 9.9 ounces). The G7 X is available in black; its body is mostly free of flair, with the exception of two red rings around the base of the shutter release and mode dial.
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The lens is a 24-100mm (35mm equivalent) zoom with a variable f/1.8-2.8 aperture. It covers a wider range than the 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 zoom used by the RX100 III, and is brighter at the long end than the 28-100mm f/1.8-4.9 zoom that Sony used on both the original RX100 ($944.30 at Amazon) and the RX100 II. The G7 X can focus as close as 2 inches as its widest angle, and the lens has a built-in three-stop neutral density filter. That makes it possible to shoot in very bight conditions at a wide aperture, but you have to manually turn it on or off. Some other cameras with integrated ND filters, like the Ricoh GR ($628.00 at Amazon) , toggle it automatically under bright light, but you need to manually enable or disable the ND filter with the G7 X.
The top plate houses a pop-up flash, the On/Off button, the zoom rocker and shutter release, a standard mode dial, and an exposure compensation adjustment dial. The two dials are stacked, with the mode dial on top, but both can be adjusted comfortably. The EV compensation dial can be set from -3 to +3 in third-stop increments, which is typical, but it deviates from the norm in its orientation. The negative values are located toward the front of the camera, with positive values located toward the rear. Most other cameras with this dial, including the Nikon Coolpix P7800 ( at Amazon) , orient it in the opposite configuration.
There's a control ring around the lens; it has detents, so it clicks as you turn it. By default its function changes depending on your shooting mode. If you're in a traditional control mode like Av or Tv, the ring adjusts aperture or shutter speed, but when you switch to some of the camera's more unique modes its function changes. The G7 X includes Creative Shot, which captures five filtered shots in addition to an unfiltered original; the ring adjusts which set of filters will be applied. In Scene mode it changes the active scene, and when set to full auto it becomes a zoom control. The ring's function can be changed via the Ring Func. button, located just under the thumb rest on the rear.
Other rear controls include a dedicated record button to start and stop video capture, playback and menu controls, and a rear control ring. The ring has a center Func./Set button, and four directional buttons that adjust the focus mode, drive mode, flash output, and amount of information shown on the rear display.
Physical controls are extended in two ways. Canon's typical overlay menu, which allows you to adjust additional camera settings without obscuring the Live View feed, is accessible via the Func./Set button. The display itself is sensitive to touch, so you can tap an area of the frame to choose a focus point. There's also a control surface at the right side of the LCD that allows you to expand the function of the front control ring on the fly. Tapping that area of the screen shows some additional options that can be adjusted; you'll need to keep your finger on the screen as you adjust the additional highlighted setting option with the front ring, but it can come in handy when wanting to make a quick adjustment. It brings up the ISO in modes where it's available, and also allows for shutter speed or aperture adjustment if you've assigned the front ring to a custom function.
The rear display itself is 3 inches in size with a 1,040k-dot resolution. It's very sharp and bright. I had no issues using it on a sunny day, even when light hit it directly. It's mounted on a hinge and can face all the way forward for selfies. The Fujifilm X30 ($599) also uses a tilting 3-inch display that's sharp at 920k-dots, but it wasn't able to cut through the glare of the sun under the same conditions. The X30 has an integrated electronic viewfinder and a hot shoe, however, both of which are missing from the G7 X.
Wi-Fi is built in. You can launch the Wi-Fi menu during image playback via the up direction of the rear control dial, or connect directly to a smartphone using a button on the right side. If your phone has NFC, tapping to connect is also an option. You can transfer images and video clips directly from the camera to your iOS or Android device via the free Canon CameraWindow app. Remote control is also supported via the app, but functionality is limited. You can adjust the zoom, set the self-timer, and fire the shutter, but you can't select a focus point or adjust exposure settings. CameraWindow has a location log option; if you enable it, you can use it to add location data to photos on the camera, assuming that the clocks are set the same on the two devices.
Performance and Conclusions
Performance and Conclusions
The G7 X starts and captures an in-focus image in about 1.8 seconds, and its 31-point contrast autofocus system locks and fires in about 0.05-second. There are two main focus modes, Face AiAf and 1-Point. The former automatically choose a focus point (or points), with a priority on focusing on faces. If you want to control the focus point yourself, 1-Point allows for that. You can tap the screen to move the point around, and choose from a small or large point via the menu. I had no issues with the G7 X locking focus using the AiAf mode, but there were a few times when the 1-Point mode had trouble locking focus. When that happens the focus boxes turns yellow with an exclamation point, rather than the green that you get when focus locks successfully. This didn't happen often, but it is something to be aware of. Canon's G1 X Mark II ($799.00 at Amazon) , which has a larger 1.5-inch image sensor, also shows this issue, but it happens less often with the G7 X. There is an Ai Servo mode, which continues to hunt for focus as long as the shutter is halfway pressed. This mode will never give you a yellow exclamation point; rather, the focus box is blue as long as you half-press the shutter, but it does introduce the possibility of snapping an out-of-focus shot, especially if you try to lock on to a subject that's too close to the lens for focus.
See How We Test Digital Cameras
Continuous shooting speed varies based on the file format. The G7 X shoots photos in Raw+JPG at about 1 frame per second, increases to 1.2fps when shooting in Raw, and speeds up dramatically to 6.5fps when set to JPG mode. It's also possible to shoot in continuous mode with continuous focus, which is useful when capturing images of a subject that is moving toward or away from the lens. In Raw+JPG it captures an image about once every 1.4 seconds, does the same every 1.3 seconds in Raw mode, and is comparatively speedy at 4.4 frames per second in JPG mode. Our tests showed that the hit rate for focus was pretty good, as long as the subject didn't drastically change its distance between shots. This isn't a camera that you'll want to use for capturing sports or birds in flights, but the continuous focus mode should help when trying to keep up with your toddler or pet. If you're looking for better burst shooting in a 1-inch camera, the RX100 III is a stronger choice; it can shoot at up to 10 frames per second for 50 shots in JPG mode and 6.6fps for 25 shots when shooting Raw or Raw+JPG images.
I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the G7 X's 24-100mm lens. At 24mm f/1.8 it's very sharp, scoring 2,508 lines per picture height on our center-weighted sharpness test. That's better than the 1,800 lines we use to call an image sharp, and it maintains that quality through most of the frame. The outer third of the frame is a little soft at 1,593 lines, but that's not bad at all when you consider the sensor size, aperture, and field of view at 24mm. The RX100 III shows similar sharpness (2,494 lines) at its widest angle, and its edges are just a little bit sharper (1,769 lines).
The lens shows more even performance across the frame at 40mm. At the maximum f/2.5 aperture manages 2,281 lines, but even the outer edges of the frame show 2,000 lines. Stopping down to f/4 nets a bit more detail, 2,446 lines, and performance is just about the same at f/5.6. The RX100 III is just a little bit better, showing 2,464 lines at 35mm f/2.8 and 2,688 lines at f/4.
Sharpness dips a bit at 100mm. At f/2.8 the lens shows 1,985 lines, but with edges that hover around 1,400 lines. Stopping down to f/4 improves things all around—2,296 lines on average with edges that top 1,900 lines, and at f/5.6 the lens hits 2,349 lines with edges that approach 2,200 lines. The RX100 III doesn't zoom to 100mm, but the older RX100 II does; at 100mm f/4.9 it shows 2,268 lines, not that far off from G7 X when stopped down to a similar aperture. Distortion is a nonissue throughout the zoom range; there's definitely some in-camera correction going on, but unless you go out of your way to use a Raw converter that doesn't take corrections into account, you'll never see it.
Imatest also checks photos for noise. When shooting JPGs the G7 X keeps noise under 1.5 percent through ISO 1600 and shows about 1.9 percent at ISO 3200. I took a close look at images from our ISO test scene on a calibrated NEC MultiSync PA271W($999.00 at Amazon) display. At lower ISOs the G7 X delivers images that are just as good, if not a little clearer, than those from the Sony RX100 III. But at ISO 3200 the Canon lacks detail when compared with the top-end Sony. Neither camera does a spectacular job at ISO 6400 or 12800, but the Sony's JPG engine outputs a bit more contrast and detail at the highest sensitivites, even if its output is a bit messier than that of the Canon. You can compare crops from our ISO test sequence in the slideshow of each review.
Adobe has not yet added Raw support for the G7 X. I used Canon's Digital Photo Professional software to convert Raw images from our ISO test scene to 16-bit TIFF format with develop settings that didn't add any sharpening or noise reduction. I imported the TIFF images into the current version of Lightroom and applied the +25 Sharpening and Color Noise Reduction that the software normally applies to Raw images by default. This method isn't perfect—Lightroom doesn't control color noise as well with TIFF files as it does with the original camera Raw image—but it's better than using the Canon software at default settings, as it applies varying noise reduction to Raw files shot at different ISOs that really harms detail at higher settings.
I converted Raw images using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Raw images seem a little soft when compared JPGs, which indicates that some additonal sharpening is required. Lightroom applies 25 by default, but I found that moving the slider to 50 improved image detail without introducing an artificial oversharpened look. The crops in the accompanying slideshow were made at the default sharpening setting. The G7 X uses a 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor, the same size and resolution used by the Sony RX100 III. While Canon won't confirm the sensor manufacturer, many have speculated that the G7 X uses the same Sony-made sensor used in the RX100 III. At lower ISOs there's not much difference between shots from the G7 X and RX100 III when shot Raw, especially after the G7 X has had some extra sharpening applied. At higher ISOs, the images are similar enough in detail and noise to be, for all practical purposes, the same. Both are class-leading in that regard.
Video is recorded at up to 1080p60 quality in MP4 format. The footage is crisp, with accurate colors and sharp details. Exposure compensation is available via a touch-screen control when rolling footage, but other manual controls are not available. You can opt to focus manually, but you'll have to set it before you start recording a clip; there's no way to change focus during recording. If you want the G7 X to refocus while recording, you'll want to enable autofocus, but be aware that the sound of the lens refocusing can be heard on the soundtrack as a slight whir that undercuts dialogue. The lens is also audible when moving in and out, and there's no way to connect an external microphone to get around this. There's a micro HDMI port, so you can connect the G7 X directly to an HDTV, and a mini USB port to connect to a computer. Canon includes an external battery charger, so if you buy a second battery, you can charge an empty one while continuing to use the camera.
On paper, the Canon PowerShot G7 X is an exciting camera. Its lens manages the 100mm telephoto reach achieved by both the RX100 and RX100 II, but it maintains a bright f/2.8 aperture at that length, whereas those two Sony cameras narrow to f/4.9 when zoomed all the way in. Its touch-screen display is very bright and I love the ability to tap an area of the display to choose the focus point, but I did miss having an EVF for eye-level shooting. It's going to take a hell of a camera to oust the Sony RX100 III as our Editors' Choice for premium compacts, and the G7 X isn't quite it. Its lens zooms in a little bit further, but it lacks the high burst rated and excellent EVF that help make the RX100 III our favorite pocket camera. But if you don't mind not having an EVF, and value the 100mm equivalent reach, the G7 X is a solid alernative to the RX100 III. Even though we rated the RX100 and RX100 II a bit higher when they were first released, we'd recommend the G7 X over either of those cameras today, especially when you consider that it carries just a $50 premium over the RX100 II.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X has a bright zoom lens that covers a lot of range and a large 1-inch image sensor, but just misses earning our Editors' Choice nod for top premium compact camera.
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